Awards & Prizes

Renate W. Chasman Award

The Chasman Award was established in 1986 to encourage women to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The award honors the memory and scientific contributions of Renate Chasman (1932-1977), a noted physicist at Brookhaven Lab. Her work significantly influenced the design of electron particle accelerators around the world, including Brookhaven’s NSLS and its successor, NSLS-II.

To be eligible for the award candidates must be:

• Graduate women students at an accredited educational institution
• Performing research at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
• Candidates receiving their graduate degree before May of the competition year are not eligible.

The award application process opens at the beginning of the calendar year and the winner is announced in spring. The awardee will be invited to present their research work at a meeting hosted by Brookhaven Women in Science.

Before starting the application process make sure that you have the following information:

• Graduate course transcript (official not required) and CV including list of publications, list of presentations in conferences, and awards and honors that may highlight your academic credentials or any other useful information that highlights your involvement to benefit the community – one combined pdf
• Personnel statement (max 2500 characters)
• Description of research (max 2500 characters)
• Name and e-mail address of one professional reference who will provide a recommendation letter that should address the student’s academic strengths and career potential

For more information email the BWIS Scholarship committee at BWISChasmanAward@bnl.gov.

More about Renate W. Chasman and past awardees

Joanna Fowler Award in the Chemical and Biochemical Sciences

The Joanna Fowler Award in the Chemical and Biochemical Sciences is proposed to recognize an outstanding early career (graduate student or postdoctoral) woman scientist who has advanced the chemical or biochemical sciences through research conducted at, or in collaboration, with Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The awardee(s) will be invited to present a lecture hosted by the Brookhaven Lab Chemistry Division, at which the award of $3,000 will be presented. The award will be advertised to the wider laboratory community to broaden awareness of research in the chemical/biochemistry sciences and impact of woman scientists.

The award will recognize one (or more) young women scientists annually for work conducted while she is/was a graduate student or a postdoctoral research associate who has collaborated with BNL scientists; or worked at BNL as a BNL-funded graduate student or RA; or was a user at a BNL user facility.

Candidates may be based at a U.S. or international institution of higher education or at a U.S. National Laboratory (including Brookhaven) during the period of the work that is recognized. Candidates can be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or foreign nationals.

• Candidates research can be in chemistry or any chemically-related biological science or materials science field.
• Candidates can be either graduate students or postdoctoral research associates doing research in the chemical and bio-chemistry fields.

This award is sponsored by the BNL Chemistry Division, the National Synchrotron Light Source II, the Energy and Photon Science directorate's DE&I council.

For further information, please contact: JoannaFowlerAward@bnl.gov.

More about Joanna Fowler and past awardees

Gertrude S. Goldhaber Prize

The Gertrude S. Goldhaber Prize has been established to honor Gertrude Scharff-Goldhaber for her outstanding contributions in the field of nuclear physics, and also for her support of women in science, and to recognize substantial promise and accomplishment by a woman graduate student in physics.

The winner will receive an award of $4000 from a fund administered by Brookhaven Women in Science, and will be expected to give a seminar on her work at the award ceremony. Nominees must:

• be enrolled in the graduate program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and/or performing their thesis research at Brookhaven National Laboratory;
• be admitted to the candidacy for the doctoral degree;
• not be receiving her degree prior to the calendar year of the award; and
• submit one letter of recommendation and one scientific paper they authored.

The award recipient will be announced by the end of June of each year, and the award ceremony will take place each Summer. The winner will be expected to give a short seminar on her work at the award ceremony.

For further information, please contact: BWISSGAward@bnl.gov

More about Gertrude Scharff-Goldhaber and past awardees